DC : The Template System

The Atlanteans, enraged at the sight of their king being overpowered, roared in unison.

"Protect the King!"

Magical bolts, plasma cannons, water-pressure blasters—every weapon fired at once, hammering the towering blue Susanoo from all sides. But the onslaught did nothing. The attacks sparked off its glowing armor like firecrackers against a fortress.

From the other side, a shrill Amazonian battle cry echoed through the crumbling cityscape.

"Amazons! For our Queen!"

The warriors of Themyscira charged, blades drawn, aiming for the towering warrior in the center.

Inside the spectral titan, Clone Max didn't even flinch.

Arthur, seizing the distraction, tried to flee.

But the Susanoo's eyes flashed.

"Where exactly do you think you're going?" Clone Max asked coldly.

The Susanoo raised one of its colossal blades and slashed down. Arthur barely dodged, flipping to the side and hurling his trident like a spear—aimed directly at Clone Max inside the chakra construct.

The golden trident pierced deep into the Susanoo's chestplate—stopping inches from Clone Max's face.

"Damn," he muttered inwardly. "That was close."

Before he could react further, Arthur came flying in, foot extended to drive the trident deeper.

But the Susanoo's hand moved like lightning.

CRUNCH!

It snatched Arthur midair, fingers curling around him like a cage of doom. Pressure mounted.

Arthur groaned in pain.

"This is… really disappointing," Clone Max said, amused. "I expected more from the 'High and Mighty King of Atlantis.'"

"Who… are you?" Arthur growled, breath ragged, as his bones groaned beneath the crushing grip.

"Oh, me?" Clone Max smirked. "Just a surface dweller. Isn't that what you call us?"

The Susanoo's grip tightened—CRACK!

Arthur's scream was guttural as his hands shattered under the pressure.

"If you think I'll surrender, just kill me now!" Arthur spat. "I will never—never—bend. Atlanteans! Press the attack! Kill every surface dweller and the witches!"

Clone Max raised a brow. "You've got it entirely wrong."

He lowered the Susanoo's hand—and slammed Arthur into the concrete with a sickening thud. The ghostly palm remained over its size making him look like a bug.

"I don't want your surrender. I want you to resist," Clone Max said, voice devoid of mercy. "That way, what I do next? It'll seem... justified."

He leaned forward, eyes gleaming behind the chakra construct.

"But even if you did surrender—it wouldn't change your people's fate. Killing you first would be mercy for all the innocent people you have killed."

He smirked.

"Because I want you to be the last to die so you can watch them all perish and there is nothing you can do to stop it."

CRACK!

The ground erupted nearby.

Wonder Woman launched herself from the rubble, landing on the rooftop opposite the towering Susanoo—sword gleaming, eyes aflame.

"Who are you, warrior?" she demanded.

Clone Max tilted his head. "I'm… whatever you'd like to interpret me as."

"Then it seems I need to teach you some manners!" she shouted, diving in.

"By all means," he replied calmly.

Below, the battlefield descended into chaos. The Amazons and Atlanteans swarmed the Susanoo, weapons clashing, war cries echoing. But their attacks were futile. The Susanoo did not falter.

From a distance, the resistance watched the war unfold.

"Is it even a question?" Grifter scoffed. "Tobi's got this under control."

"He's not even personally there," Lois said, eyes wide.

Grifter pointed to a rooftop in the distance—there, standing calmly in the wind, was the real Max.

Just as they spotted him, he flicked his wrist, and a war fan materialized in his hand.

Without hesitation, he leapt from the building.

Straight into the fray.

"Just how many abilities does this guy have?" Lois asked, still staring at the chaos below.

"No idea," Grifter muttered, watching the Susanoo swat aside both Atlantean and Amazonian elite like rag dolls. "But he really is a one-man army."

Lois shook her head in disbelief. "And he's not even breaking a sweat."

Grifter's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "Yeah… even if he's got it all under control—we've still got a score to settle for our fallen comrades."

He slung his rifle onto his shoulder, cocked it, and stepped to the edge of the rooftop.

"I still have some hate to lay."

And with that, he jumped down into the fray.

The others looked at each other—nodded—and followed behind him.

--------------

"Alright, here's the plan," Max Clone 2 said, glancing between Batman and Barry. "Thawne's going to come for you, Barry—he always does. It's his style. He wants to break you down, humiliate you. But if he senses I'm around, he might hesitate or not show at all."

He pointed to Barry. "That's why you Batman and cyborg will wait here as bait. I'll stay hidden in plain sight and strike when the time's right and also try to act normal."

"You sure he's going to show up?" Cyborg asked, arms folded, eyes scanning the empty alleyway. He'd been briefed on the mess this timeline was, and none of it sounded predictable.

"He should," Batman said, tone grim. "From the type of bastard he is... this would be the perfect moment."

"Alright, here we go," Max Clone 2 nodded—and with a puff of smoke, transformed into a solid rock, plopping to the ground with a soft thud.

"…Did he just—?" Barry blinked.

"You know what?" Barry said, walking over and nudging the rock with his foot. "I'm not even surprised anymore. It actually feels solid."

"Stick to the script, Barry," Cyborg said, sighing as he double-checked the perimeter with his scanners.

As Barry and Thawne vanished in a blur of lightning and chaos, Max Clone 2 reappeared, shifting back from the unassuming rock form with a low hum of chakra.

"He was listening to our conversation the whole time," Max Clone 2 said calmly.

Cyborg's eyes widened. "What? But I scanned the entire perimeter—twice! There was no trace of him."

"Doesn't matter," Batman cut in, voice cold. "We know now. What's the real plan? Not that I'd mind improvising."

Max Clone 2 turned to him, serious. "Leave Thawne to me and Barry. He's too fast for you. You'd only get in the way. Focus on evacuating the resistance fighters—now. Because I'm about to bring hell to this place."

And with that, he vanished into thin air—gone without a sound.

Batman looked at Cyborg. "You heard him."

Cyborg nodded grimly. "Let's move."

-----------------

Asthw real Max landed, Black Manta, fresh from blasting an Amazon with his plasma beam, turned toward him and fired. Max didn't flinch. He raised his gunbai fan casually—absorbing the beam into its surface, the weapon glowing a furious red.

"Uchiha Reflection," Max said coldly.

The stored energy discharged instantly, the redirected blast screaming back at Manta. He barely dodged in time—only to turn around and catch Max's fan square in the face. His helmet shattered with a metallic crack, blood erupting from his nose and mouth as he was violently flung through the air.

Before Manta could recover, Max landed on his back with both feet, driving the air from his lungs in a pained gasp. His eyes bulged, and he gagged hard.

An Amazon lunged in from Max's left, sword raised. Without hesitation, Max stepped off Manta, grabbed him by the ankle, and hurled his body like a club. The Amazon's blade cut through Manta midair, slicing him in half—only to keep charging straight at Max.

Grinning behind his mask, Max met her head-on. His gunbai swung with devastating force. The Amazon blocked—but severely underestimated his strength. She was launched like a ragdoll, crashing into a stone wall with a sickening crunch.

More Amazons rushed him.

Max dismissed his fan mid-stride, opting for bare fists. One warrior slashed—Max ducked low, slamming an uppercut into her chin that launched her clean off the ground. He followed with a spinning kick to her gut, sending her flying and disarming her mid-air.

As her sword flew free, Max flipped, kicked it with pinpoint accuracy, and sent it whistling like a bullet—straight into the head of another Amazon who'd just drawn her bow. The blade buried deep into her skull, cutting her cry short.

Before her corpse even dropped, Max landed mid-spin, using her body like a springboard to crush another Amazon's skull beneath his heel.

He launched upward again, flipping mid-air and came crashing down like a meteor, creating a shockwave that blasted away the enemy soldiers too close to him—scattering them like leaves before a storm.

end of chapter